Sazae-san(サザエさん) is a Japanesecomic strip created by Machiko Hasegawa. It was first published in Hasegawa's local paper, the Fukunichi Shinbun(フクニチ新聞), on April 22, 1946. When the Asahi Shinbun wished to have Hasegawa draw the comic strip for their paper, she moved to Tokyo in 1949 with the explanation that the main characters had moved from Kyūshū to Tokyo as well. The comic dealt with contemporary situations in Tokyo until Hasegawa retired and ended the comic on February 21, 1974. It won the 8th Bungeishunjū Manga Award in 1962.[1] A television anime adaptation by TCJ, and later Eiken, began airing in Japan in October 1969 and holds the Guinness World Record for the longest running animated television series.[2]

Contents

Plots1

Characters2

Isono and Fuguta family2.1

Isono and Fuguta family's kinship2.2

Isasaka family2.3

Hama family2.4

Other characters2.5

Publishing3

Sazae-san on television4

Anime series4.1

Live-action series4.2

See also5

References6

Plots

The comic was very topical. In the beginning, Sazae was more interested in being herself than dressing up in kimono and makeup to attract her future husband. Hasegawa was forward-thinking in that, in her words, the Isono/Fuguta clan would embody the image of the modern Japanese family after World War II.

Sazae was a very "liberated" woman, and many of the early plotlines revolved around Sazae bossing around her husband, to the consternation of her neighbors, who believed that a man should be the head of his household. Later, Sazae became a feminist and was involved in many comical situations regarding her affiliation with her local women's lib group.

Despite the topical nature of the comic, the core of the stories revolved around the large family dynamic, and were presented in a lighthearted, easy fashion. In fact, the final comic, in 1974, revolved around Sazae's happiness that an egg she cracked for her husband's breakfast produced a double yolk, with Katsuo remarking about the happiness the "little things" in life can bring.

Today, the popular Sazae-sananime is frequently taken as nostalgia for traditional Japanese society (since it lacks modern marvels such as video games and otaku culture), even though it was leftist to the point of controversy when it originally ran in Japanese newspapers.

Characters

A typical Sazae-san strip

Isono and Fuguta family

The main character. Age 24 (27 in the manga), born on November 22 in Fukuoka. In the beginning Sazae's mother was worried that Sazae was too unladylike to ever attract a husband, but she married Masuo. She is very cheerful but always quarrels with Katsuo.

Sazae's mischievous little brother. Aged 11. He was often suffered under the wrath of his older sister Sazae, when he refused to do his homework or accidentally insults other guests in the manner of faux-pas. The same thing occurs for Namihei, his father when he usually finds out about Katsuo's low grade on his tests and lectures through scolding. His main activity consists of playing baseball with his friends.

The inspiration for the characters is said to have come to Hasegawa as she was strolling along the beach one day.

Although the comic ran for twenty-eight years, the characters never aged: Sazae was always 27 years old, her husband 28, her father and mother were always 54 and 48, and Sazae's siblings were around eleven and seven years of age, respectively.

Publishing

The comic strip was published in book form by Shimaisha (姉妹社), which Machiko ran with her sister, Mariko. In April 1993, this publishing company went out of business and the comic books went out of print. The same year, Asahi Shinbun purchased the right to publish the forty-five paperback volumes. Selected comics have been published in the United States by Kodansha America, Inc.

The end credits for each episode include brief animations of the original comic strips, with dialogue appearing in word balloons. Since November 1991, after the closing credits and the next episode previews, each show has ended with a janken match between Sazae and the viewers at home, in which Sazae holds up a sign representing one of the appropriate hand gestures.[3] From 1969 to 1991, Sazae ended each episode by tossing a bean or rice cake in the air and catching it in her mouth. Fuji Television switched to the janken match after doctors at Tohoku University Hospital and the National Center for Child Health and Development raised concerns that children may try to imitate Sazae and potentially choke on food.

On November 16, 2008, the series' 3000th episode was broadcast in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the anime series; this special episode also featured Sazae-san wearing five costumes based on submissions from viewers.

The anime series was originally sponsored solely by Toshiba—including placement of its products within the show—but later expanded to other sponsors.

Sazae-san was the last anime television series to use traditional cel animation, although as of April 2009, the opening credits were digital.[4] Despite the series being a hit, Hasegawa stated that she never wanted any merchandise to be made for it, including home video rights, making availability of past episodes, especially those prior to the introduction of the VCR, very rare. Following her death, her request to prohibit older episodes from being released in home media continues to be honored.[5]

On September 5, 2013, Sazae-san was awarded the Guinness World Record for the longest running animated television series in the world.[2]

Live-action series

In 1955, a radio station aired a serial drama based on the comic strip.

The same year, a short-lived live-action television series was started, and was aired on what is now TBS.

In November 1965, TBS started a dramatic television series modeled after the comic strip. It aired until September 1967.

In 1979, NHK made a dramatic serial which ran for six months, focusing on the creation of Sazae-san and Machiko Hasegawa in her younger days.

In 2010, Fuji Television debuted a live-action situation comedy series, Sazae-san 2(サザエさん2), followed the following year with Sazae-san 3(サザエさん3). The series is patterned after the anime series and uses the same elements, including the theme music and the closing janken match.

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